Raji’s Journeys with the Mirror Dede
By Ahmet Hilmi
Awakened Dreams was written in the early 1900’s at the end of the Ottoman era by Ahmet Hilmi — humorist, revolutionary, and Sufi mystic. In this allegory of the soul’s transformation, a confused and dissolute young man meets a wise mentor in a cemetery and is guided through a series of revelatory experiences. Raji meets Buddha, Zoroaster, and other prophets, experiences himself in strange new worlds, and journeys through the levels of spiritual attainment. Awakened Dreams has been used a teaching tool in various Sufi traditions for the last ninety years.